Distinguished Service Cross, 1914

The Distinguished Service Cross replaced the Conspicuous Service Cross of 1901 in 1914, and recognised gallant or distinguished conduct by officers of the Royal Navy against the enemy at sea. Other ranks were to be awarded the
Distinguished Service Medal. The eligibility for the DSC has been progressively widened, in 1940 to officers of the other services fighting at sea, and since 1993 to all ranks. It is still on current issue.
This example bears a hallmark of 1914, suggesting that the unnamed and unknown recipient earnt it for an act of bravery in the first months of the Great War. It was purchased by Lester Watson from the London dealers Baldwin in 1927.